What Camera lens should I bring?

[FurKids]

Going to St. Maaartin, St. Thomas and Bahamas and was thinking of renting a good lens for pictures. Have a Nikon D90. Thanks in advance.

[Maxroadster]

The locations you mention offer fantastic photographic opportunities and can be challenging when it comes to lens choices. Macro for close up of the vegetation, intermediate lens for work around your immediate location and maybe a good telephoto lens for taking shots from high up in Ft. Lewis of the yachts often anchored in Sandy Point or one of the other marinas in St. Marrten. St. Thomas offers a lot of the same possibilities excluding the fort of course. Any location in the Caribbean is going to have special needs for filters as well. A clear protective filter and a circular polarizing filter would be my selection. Maybe a good zoom telephoto would work? Did I mention having a good underwater camera is always worth having around? Have Fun!!!

[awboater]

I've done that itinerary several times before, and am going again in Oct.

 

I have a D90, and here is what I take:

 

Nikon AF 10.5mm DX f/2.8 fisheye

Nikon AF 50mm f/1.8 prime

Tokina 11-16mm f/2.8 super wide angle

Nikon AF-S 18-200mm f/3.5~5.6 zoom

 

It fits my needs for lenses. I just bought the 18-200mm recently to cut down on the amount of lenses I need to take on a cruise. I used to take the D90 18-105mm kit lens and a 70-300mm telephoto, but the 18-200mm replaces both of those. I don't miss the 300mm as in reality, there is not a lot of difference between 200mm and 300mm.

 

I take the fisheye and 50mm prime as they are both fairly small lenses, so they pack easily. But they go into my "mother ship" bag. My main camera bag is really light, and I can only fit the D90 with the 18-200 attached, the Tokina 11-16, and a flash.

 

I have come to the painful realization that any camera bag large enough for all of your gear is too heavy to be comfortable, especially if you are lugging it around for some time. So compactness in lens selections and a small day bag are important to me. So I take two bags; a larger "mother ship" bag, and a smaller day bag that fits inside. For the mother ship, I use a Think Tank Airport International, and for the day bag, a Think Tank Change-Up.

 

I really like the Change-Up as it is fairly small, 11"W x 4.3”D x 9.5”H, about the size of one of those adult hip-roof lunch-boxes, and it can be carried as a shoulder bag, or a belt-pack if you pull the permanently attached belt web out of the sides.

 

On my past trips, I usually used the 18-105 about 60% of the time and the Tokina 11-16 about 40%. I rarely used the 70-300 as it was too much gear to carry around, so it sit in the cabin most of the time. I would use the fisheye occasionally for those special purpose shots, but hardly used the 50mm. But the 50mm was small enough that it didn't take much to pack. If I were to leave any lens home, it would be the 70-300.

 

I also have a Nikon 80-200 f/2.8 "bazooka" that I use for sports photography, but it is big and heavy, and I don't think I would ever take it with me on a cruise. I shoot mostly in the daylight hours in the Caribbean, so the 18-200 will work fine.

 

But the 18-200, while it is a highly regarded lens, has issues - as does most super-zooms. It is a bit soft in the 24-35mm range at lower apertures, but at f/8 it does pretty well. And you should be shooting f/8 anyway if you can. "f/8 and be there" as they say.

 

However, even though there is a measurable difference with this lens, there is not necessarily a noticeable difference. You always have to remember that when looking at photo gear. Overall I am pretty happy with it. I am trading the improved optics of the better lenses for the convenience of having one lens in a small package. At least for cruising.

 

I also take a Nikon p7000 as a second camera, and an Olympus 8010 as a waterproof camera.

 

I second the polarizer for a cruise. When you take an excursion, often you are on an air-conditioned bus and that is the only opportunity you have for some photos of the countryside. A polarizer will help shoot through the windows. I also throw a couple of disposable "handy wipes" into my camera bag to clean the window if needed.

 

One issue in the Caribbean, due to the heat and humidity is haze. A haze filter - forget it, they do not work. Especially over water, long telephoto shots come out really dull. While you can improve things a bit using photoshop, it is a pain to have to do that for many photos. That is one reason I don't shoot a lot of long distance telephoto.

[chipmaster]

What type of pictures do you want to take, what do you feel was limiting you the last time out?

 

What will be the end goal, blow up to 11x17 for wall hanging, slide show on your laptop or digital frame, flickr share, or just for your personal peeping pleasure that its the best it can be?

 

I recently took a D3s/D7000, 3P&S and some lense to hawaii, lights, tripods accessories. It ended up being 30lbs in backpack plus some checked luggage. In hindsight I realized I packed one DSLR body to much and 2P&S too much and one flash short. Only you know yourself best.

 

I assume you are bringing a superzoom 18-105 or 18-200. Than the real question is all about IQ. If you got a superzoom the only thing really missing would be a wideangle 10-24 nikkor ?

 

If you are after distance stuff 70-300 or 55-300. If low light and/or better IQ is a must 70-200 2.8 plus a TCE17 or maybe a 200-400F4 nikkor

 

 

Going to St. Maaartin, St. Thomas and Bahamas and was thinking of renting a good lens for pictures. Have a Nikon D90. Thanks in advance.

[zackiedawg]

Assuming you already have some form of kit lens covering the medium lengths, which should be fine - and not likely to need big telephotos unless you are a birder or wildlife nut, I'd tend to go for an ultrawide, if you don't have one. They give you such a completely different perspective of things, and are very usable in the Caribbean due to the nice big skies and gorgeous beaches - it's always easy to go for a very low angle, or stick a tree or building or rock right in the foreground against the lens and shoot a sweeping tropical vista spreading out from there. The narrow streets and alleys of St. Thomas and St. Maarten play perfectly in an ultrawide perspective, and it allows you to squeeze whole buildings, ships, etc into the frame even when you've only got 10 feet to back up before hitting the next wall.

 

Oh, and in St. Maarten, if you happen to get out to the airport beach bar, that ultrawide perspective of a huge airliner dropping onto your head would be positively stunning! ;)

 

I say, go for an ultrawide - 10-24, 10-20, 11-16, etc.

[mnbruce]

After looking at the choices of Nikon lenses at one rental site and if I only could take one lens with me it would be the 24-85 2.8. It won't cover the ulta wide or the long telephoto ranges but it will cover everything in between which is most likely what you would shoot most often. It will cover landscapes, allow you to shoot some HQ floral images and work well as a portrait lens. Just my opinion.

[chipmaster]

D90 is a crop sensor so 24 is not wide at all and 85 also not that long.

That would be a way too limiting lense on DX!

 

For the "one" lense the 18-105 and or 18-200 are far better choices. They are more modern designs with VR that the 24-85 doesn't have even with the faster starting aperture.

 

stopped down the 18-105 and 18-200 won't be much different than the 24-85. Where the 24-85 is interesting is if you have a FX camera, and even there there are better choices now with the new 24-120F4.

 

After looking at the choices of Nikon lenses at one rental site and if I only could take one lens with me it would be the 24-85 2.8. It won't cover the ulta wide or the long telephoto ranges but it will cover everything in between which is most likely what you would shoot most often. It will cover landscapes, allow you to shoot some HQ floral images and work well as a portrait lens. Just my opinion.

[mnbruce]

D90 is a crop sensor so 24 is not wide at all and 85 also not that long.

That would be a way too limiting lense on DX!

 

For the "one" lense the 18-105 and or 18-200 are far better choices. They are more modern designs with VR that the 24-85 doesn't have even with the faster starting aperture.

 

stopped down the 18-105 and 18-200 won't be much different than the 24-85. Where the 24-85 is interesting is if you have a FX camera, and even there there are better choices now with the new 24-120F4.

 

The OP asked a question, they did not ask for a debate. Also the rental site I looked at did not have the 18-105 or I might have mentioned that. The OP also did not mention the lenses they already have,which would have helped.

[chipmaster]

Call it a correction as to select a 24-85 would be a grave mistake nothing to debate! Even the newer 16-85 VR is superior, same on the long side much wider and versatile on the wide side for DX!!

 

Now if you need a site with great reputation and a wide selection of lense including multiple DX including , 18-200, and non Nikon superzooms this is the place: http://www.lensrentals.com/rent/nikon/lenses/normal-range

 

The OP asked a question, they did not ask for a debate. Also the rental site I looked at did not have the 18-105 or I might have mentioned that. The OP also did not mention the lenses they already have,which would have helped.

[mnbruce]

Call it a correction as to select a 24-85 would be a grave mistake nothing to debate! Even the newer 16-85 VR is superior, same on the long side much wider and versatile on the wide side for DX!!

 

Grave mistake? My recommedation might have not been the best but your hyperbole is useless. If I was a Nikon shooter I have no doubt I could get that lens to produce some really nice images.

 

 

Now if you need a site with great reputation and a wide selection of lense including multiple DX including , 18-200, and non Nikon superzooms this is the place: http://www.lensrentals.com/rent/nikon/lenses/normal-range

 

I don't need the site, as I don't shoot witha Nikon and I don't ever have a need to rent.